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Our Daily Thread 5-5-14

Good Morning!

Today’s header photo is from Janice.

On this day in 1798 U.S. Secretary of War William McHenry ordered that the USS Constitution be made ready for sea.

In 1809 Mary Kies was awarded the first patent to go to a woman. It was for technique for weaving straw with silk and thread. 

In 1862 the Battle of Puebla took place. It is celebrated as Cinco de Mayo Day. 

In 1865 the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified, abolishing slavery in the U.S. 

And in 1987 the U.S. Congress opened the Iran-Contra hearings.

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Quote of the Day

“Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.”

C. S. Lewis

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Today is Spence Smith’s birthday, so it’s Big Tent Revival.

And it’s composer Stanislaw Moniuszko’s too.

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Anyone have a QoD?

64 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 5-5-14”

  1. I so appreciate the 13th amendment after watching Lincoln this weekend.
    Morning all, welcome to the work week. Don’t forget Mother’s Day is coming.
    Kinder will be making a gift.

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  2. Good evening Jo,
    Good afternoon Ajisuun.
    Good morning everyone else.

    I have a comment about C.S. Lewis’ comment, but I have to go.

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  6. Part of our order of service at my church is to sing a refrain for the Psalms, read a paragraph, sing the refrain, read, sing for however many verses their are. Our new music director’s first Sunday with us was Psalm Sunday. (See Buddy Holly in your mind). Yesterday the refrain was so good that the priest had him and the band sing it again after the Peace. Robert made the comment that it was what the Psalms would have sounded like if David had grown up in Yazoo City, MS. It had an old black gospel sound to it. You couldn’t help tapping your feet or clapping along with it.
    We had an emergency meeting of the vestry yesterday to address the storm damage. It seems the dirt has washed out from under one of our buildings. The building was already up on pilings and French drains were in place, but this was what the engineer called a 500 year flood. The most ironic part is that insurance is refusing to pay for it because….wait for it… here it comes…. It was an act of God.
    Now THAT is what the atheists really need to focus on and protest. If there is no God how can it be an act of God. Insurance must pay!

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  7. Good evening, Jo. Good morning, all. I slept well last night and feel much better after having a migraine yesterday.

    Four weeks until summer!!! I don’t know who’s more excited about that–me or the girls!

    We booked our summer vacation yesterday. We are going back to The Cayman Islands. I’m very excited! We had thought about going to San Diego, but it would’ve cost us just as much and we all loved The Cayman’s. It’s my idea of the perfect vacation–lovely accommodations, beautiful, crystal clear water, friendly people and it’s very safe. We are going in July.

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  9. I am in my visiting week. I have bags of junk (ahem…valuable possessions) ready to give to friends as I go out. I have 25-30 families that I’m planning to visit this week. The visits will be very short. I’m trying to do about 5 a day and not kill myself. Not all 30 families will get a goody bag. Most will just get me..saying goodbye. There are a couple of older ladies that I thought wouldn’t still be here after my LAST furlough. I really want to have a chance to share the gospel with them one more time before I leave. I will be visiting one of them this afternoon.

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  11. Cheryl: My favorite vacation spot used to be Isla Mujeres, a small island off of Cancun, but with all the turmoil in Mexico, we didn’t feel safe taking the kids. Then we discovered The Cayman’s… I highly recommend it!

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  12. KIm, that is scary. They won’t insure against “acts of God”?
    That’s almost everything people insure against, floods, tornadoes, Hurricanes, etc.
    There is no reason to carry insurance if they don’t insure against acts of God.

    I rethought the issue of commenting on Lewis’ comment. It’s too complicated. I may come back to it later.
    It has been a rough ride, but the destination was worth it.
    I am on the edge of leaving much sooner than most of you, barring a tragedy of some sort.
    I will leave with no regrets.
    Welllll. Sometimes when I think of days gone by, I have some minor regrets. e.g. I never asked Aimee S out in High School. Trivial stuff like that.
    But I have much to be thankful for. We have been blessed beyond measure, both of us know it.

    We are going to Greensboro this weekend for the dedication of Mary’s baby. (Mary is middle GD.)

    I once had great ambitions of going into the ministry and changing the world. It never worked out. But when the Lord asks me about that, I can truthfully say, “I went through every door that was open.”

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  13. It’s too early on a Monday for me to ponder much beyond making some coffee.

    annms, sounds like a fun vacation. Mexico used to be a great place to vacation — Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Taxco, Mexico City. Lots of history and gorgeous beaches. But it is dicey going there now (which has really impacted our local cruise business as well).

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  14. Prom. I cannot understand why we still allow high-schoolers to waste hundreds of dollars and stay up all night. It was Saturday and now most of my students are wanting nothing more than to sleep away the day. maybe I should wake them up with a pop-quiz.

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  15. They can write essays on their prom experience. My daughter has pleaded for four years to be allowed to go, we never conceded.

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  16. I went to a lot of proms. Mostly it was a friend fixing up some guy who couldn’t get a date. After I got over the first one, I met some nice guys and had some very good meals. Now girls don’t wear age appropriate dresses. (I was in Rainbow Girls so I had a lot of formal dresses is why I was a good bet for a date)

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  17. Proms were simpler in my day — formal wear and a late restaurant dinner afterward, then home again. Your date usually had to borrow his parent’s car, the guy paid for everything.

    Renting limousines, drinking & spending the night at a hotel were unthinkable. Maybe some of the faster kids at my school had more “fun,” but for most of us it was just a special, dressed-up (but stressful) date night that had you in by midnight or 1 a.m., at least.

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  18. I never went to prom, though asked several times. However, I once heard someone tell my mom that she wanted her daughters to go and experience what a formal dinner and dance was like. I think she had a good point.

    Prom, like many things, is what you make of it. All my daughters went several times and I have never regretted it. I enjoyed shopping for the ‘right’ dress for each one for each event. They also borrowed and loaned dresses. In fact, the only dress I actually altered myself was for a friend of my daughter’s. I disliked doing that, but I knew she had no one else to do it, so gritted my teeth and did it.

    Each event is different and a lot depends on advisors and chaperones. My daughter once attended with her husband, who needed to be a chaperone. Since, they had never gone to the prom together, it was a blessing for them. Her other prom pictures were all with her boyfriend who died. Now she had some new, good memories.

    Prom can be a once in a lifetime experience. It can be a real time to show your daughter and sons how to treat their dates with respect and how to dress appropriately (not necessarily the most expensively) for a formal evening It can be quite fun to help your daughter feel and look especially beautiful for a special night. Most of us do not have a lot of formal events to teach this.

    I also hosted one of those after parties. Yes, it was a sacrifice to stay up all night. That also happens at any all-night activities. I hate them, but they are a big thrill for the young people and not something done often. My children never went to any of these where I did not know the person having it. I would not allow that.

    Like lots of times in parenting, prom can be a real pain or it can be a great learning and memory sharing event.

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  19. All the talk about vacation spots put this quote on my mind: “If you cannot travel, remember that our Lord Jesus Christ is more glorious that all else that you could ever see. Get a view of Christ and you have seen more than mountains and cascades and valleys and seas can ever show you. Earth may give its beauty, and the stars their brightness, but all these put together can never rival Him.” Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

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  20. In a hurry, with plenty to say about proms, but in the meantime a fawning aunt story about my favorite soccer player.
    http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20140504/sports/140509792

    He made an adorable video during the baby’s first weeks. It starts with a shot of the microwave clock: 4:22. Pans to a screaming baby and shifts to a ferocious goalie look–what we all felt at 4:22 in the morning with a screaming child! LOL

    Zumba is calling . . . .

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  21. Proms and public school: I never went and never regretted not going. Husband did not and never regretted it. We were both too busy with other things. Daughter would like to have gone but she keeps herself so booked up, she would not have had time. Besides, I have seen the Facebook of some of the girls she wanted to attend with.

    We often hear people say, “I went to public school, and I turned out okay” and that can certainly happen. But it pays to actually go in there and see how things are going in the school before being too generous with praise toward it. From what I have seen and from what my children tell me, it is not very similar to when I was there. One prime example was when one of the boys in the welding class would not sit down in class but wanted to doodle on the dry erase board. The teacher again told him to sit down. So he walked to his seat, picked it up, carried it to the dry erase board, sat down, and continued his doodling. It is nonstop for some of these children and the teacher has no recourse. Not a good learning environment for those who are there to learn. Which is why I am against mandatory education.

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  23. Was never invited to a prom, never attended. I think I’ve forgiven my (then)boyfriend, now husband . . . 🙂

    Older sons went and we served dinner at our house for them and three other couples; one year we had several extra girls, too. Afterwards they returned to our house for more food, the hot tub, pool and I don’t know what else. My husband chaperoned.

    Younger two didn’t have dates. Stargazer, therefore, watched the Star Wars movies all night with similar geeks and my daughter went with a couple girlfriends. It was sufficient.

    Talked with a friend the other day who said the tux rental alone was $200 for her son. He doesn’t have as much money for college as he’d like, so he’s decided to skip the prom. A good call.

    Some of my older son’s friends stopped in their prom finery at a local convalescent hospital before coming to dinner and wandered the halls stopping to visit the bedridden. I’ve always loved that idea–the people were so delighted to see them, and they went on to the dance feeling good about the evening. The kids also wore their dresses and tuxes to church on Sunday–and then went home to collapse!

    Tricky and really unfair, to have the prom during AP testing, however. 😦

    I guess it’s just as well I never went. I’ve never been a bridesmaid either . . .

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  24. So sorry about the snow Kare…it is to be in the 70’s here today…Thursday we are supposed to have rain…turning to snow… 😦
    I went to the 9th grade prom…with a boy from church…the “theme” of the prom was The Age of Aquarius 🙂
    I went to my senior prom with a guy I worked with at the Pharmacy…he was my boss’s nephew…went to dinner then on to the prom…which was held in the school gym…crepe paper decorations, local band playing the theme song “Colour My World”…teachers, and parents were chaperones….we were home by 1….I wore a big ol’ pouffy pink prom dress…he bought a pretty corsage for me…sweet times….

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  26. I also attended one military ball with a boyfriend who was in college ROTC. My mother made my formal gowns for the prom and the military ball. She did a great job on both. The prom dress was blue satin and the military ball dress was red eyelet.

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  27. Never been to prom (never had a chance . . . I took high school by correspondence and in a couple of my teen years we were living far from civilization. No one closer to me in age than four years younger or 11 years older, for example, attended our church, unless you count my two younger siblings and one boy my sister’s age). Since we didn’t dance, I wouldn’t have been allowed to go anyway.

    My junior year of college I had a ticket to go to my school’s junior/senior banquet even though I didn’t have a date and I didn’t know anyone going without a date. I was determined that datelessness was not going to keep me from attending an event that was supposed to be for all of us. I got sick at the last moment and was very, very unhappy about it. But I went as a senior with a date (a guy who stressed we were going “just as friends” . . . my only date during my college career) and had a good time but I noticed that there was not one single individual in the room who wasn’t part of a couple, and realized how badly I would have stood out the year before if I had gone by myself, and how miserable I probably would have been!

    I have, however, been a bridesmaid six times. Three family, three friends. After five, I determined no more. And within weeks my mom called me and told me she was getting married and asked if I could be her maid of honor. 🙂 I said yes, of course. (My sister was matron of honor.)

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  28. I’ve been to 3 proms: Two as a teacher/chaperone and one when I was 20. A friend had a girlfriend who was supposed to go on a science trip, so he invited another girl. Since the science trip was cancelled, he needed me to take the other girl. I had fun, I guess. It was at a fancy restaurant. But I was not the oldest one there. One girl brought a 21 year old who wanted beer but was told he couldn’t get it since most of the people were under 21.

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  30. I didn’t go to my own proms. I went to a big school and really did not have many friends, nor the money to afford a tux and fancy dinner. Besides, I graduated early and wasn’t even in school by Spring of my senior year.

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  32. Thanks Donna, and that agrees with the small sample of youth I know. They are very active and many (not most) participate in our Crosswalk Ministry.
    In my experience most don’t pay much attention to millennial doctrine. But I am a heretic in my church because I don’t believe in a pre-trib rapture. It has no scriptural support whatever.

    I don’t like winter because it’s cold and you can’t get out into it much. But summer has it’s disadvantages too. Too much to do, and I’m not up to it. So, I worked a while and took a long break in the swing you see at #14, and worked some more till the postman came, then went out again. I just got in, tired and sweaty. I’m debating with myself where I want to shower and quit, or go back an do the back yard.

    😦 I told you about three bushes I lost on the east side of the house. I think I lost three of my butterfly bushes too. We’ll see.

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  36. Cheryl – RE: your last comment to me on this weekend’s Rants & Raves –

    I may gripe about it on here, but in reality, I have learned to not expect him to show up. Although he said he would “definitely” pick him up this past Saturday, I started the day knowing that there was a very good chance he wouldn’t show up. It just amazes me, & not in a good way, how he can brag about how involved he wants to be in Forrest’s life, & then not make the effort to abide by the agreement he said he wanted.

    And yes, you have a good point that maybe Forrest doesn’t need him, especially because of some of his (R’s) behavior. Unfortunately, as long as R wants to have a relationship with him, the law says he has to, unless he was overtly abusive.

    R keeps saying he’s going to join the military. Let’s hope & pray he finally does. Maybe the military will help straighten him out, & maybe he’ll find Jesus there. (I pray for him every night, BTW.)

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  37. It’s sixty three degrees in my living room

    S is fascinated by the ideas of Rapture and Tribulation and wants me to tell him what is going to happen. I don’t know, I tell him to read the Bible and get back to me. There are too many smart people with too varied opinions for me to think I have it right. But he is a bright one, so if he ever does take the time to look at it, he will come up with a fairly interesting layout.

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  38. All this talk of proms reminds me of a continuing news story here in Connecticut. On a recent Friday morning, in a high school in Milford, Conn., a 16-year old young lady was stabbed to death by another 16-year old, a young man whose invitation to the prom, which was scheduled for that night, she had turned down (she was going with her boyfriend). (The young man has shown some signs of psychosis.)

    This young lady, Maren, was in drama club, was student body president (IIRC), & active in other ways. The smiling picture of her looks so much like a young lady I know & love who was also similarly involved when she was in high school (including drama club).

    That night, the prom was postponed, & many of her classmates went to a vigil for her dressed in their prom dresses & tuxes. I saw a photo of a group of kids, with one holding up Maren’s empty prom dress on a hanger. Very touching, very sad.

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  39. Doesn’t that sad story point partly to our faulty thinking on entitlement? The young man thought he was entitled to have a date with her no matter what, it seems to me. All that self esteem mumbo-jumbo that makes it seem all are equal in all respects regardless of reality. We do all have equal value in God’s eyes in that He paid the price for our sins through the blood and life of Jesus. But by the world’s standards, the Bible says the poor will always be with you. We all have the tendency to go down the side path of comparison and find ourselves to be better or worse off than others. But true Christians don’t dwell there or take what isn’t theirs to make things even.

    That is such a sad outcome for that community.

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  41. I did hear that sad story, Karen. It seems Janice is right. I turned down three young men one year. None of them tried to kill me. They found other dates. It is sad when either boys or girls feel ‘less than’ because someone they have a crush on, does not reciprocate.

    All public schools are different. I even found two different grade schools, who had the same principal, were still very different. They can also change quickly under different administrations.

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  42. It is about 17 Celsius (that’s about 62 Fahrenheit) here. I just had to walk barefoot in the grass. Our lawn is no lush carpet of even grass blades. We have clover, dandelions, yarrow, oregano, plantation and lot of other things mixed in; it was wonderful just to feel the green underfoot again.
    There was only dust and mud to feel underfoot in West Africa – one doesn’t want to walk in grass for fear of snakes, so grass around houses is uprooted or burned off. If you do walk barefoot in the mud, you need to wash your feet soon after – otherwise, you get worms that you can see just under the skin.

    Kare, there are proms in Ontario. I’ve never been to one, never having attended public or high school.

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  43. Thanks, Roscuro, I was wondering if there were proms out east. We have grad, but that’s just for those graduating.

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  44. The purple flower with the fleabane is what a neighbor gave to me. She called it ground orchid. She is deceased now, but the flowers always bring her to mind. She was many years ago my mother’s boarding house roommate. Does anyone else here have flowers or plants that were given by relatives and friends that are special reminders?

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  46. It is 78 degrees in the middle section of our house but it feels much warmer upstairs.

    I just realized that the heat has gotten to Bosley. She is not as lively as she has been. I guess this is her first real experience with hot weather.

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  47. I have found a small snake in our grass while mowing some years back. It appeared harmless so I picked it up and threw it out of the way. That is the effect having a son has on a mom. I gained an appreciation for snakes and snails and lizard tails.

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  48. Janice, I have what may be a quince in my rose garden. I was walking around with my mother in law, who was in the grip of dementia. She saw the flower hidden down on the ground and commented on the pretty flower. She has passed away and the plant has grown and spread and every time I pass by it, I remember her.

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  49. The young man who stabbed the young lady may be mentally ill. He was being kept in some kind of hospital-type confinement, under suicide watch, & it has been reported that he is showing signs of psychosis.

    My heart goes out to both families.

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  50. Neither Lee nor I went to our respective proms. He was asked by a girl, but he was so shy, he said no. He regrets that, & hopes the girl wasn’t hurt by his rejection.

    I wasn’t asked. 😦

    But during our first year of marriage, I put on a private little prom for the two of us. I wore my bridesmaid dress from my brother’s wedding. I found a little flower arrangement of pink carnations in an ice cream sundae (or ice cream soda) glass, with a straw. It was pretty & cute. We still have the glass.

    Neither of my girls went to a prom (we were homeschooling), although Chrissy went to a similar type of formal dinner & dance at the invitation of her best friend.

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  51. Elvera has a large houseplant that was given to her by her now deceased sister.
    I have to lug it upstairs every summer so it can go outside, and downstairs every winter so it will live.
    I hate that. But I do it for her.

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  52. My father use to grow a banana tree that had to be lugged inside the basement for winter and then back out. Husband and I use to have two beautiful Night Blooming Cirrus plants that we had on the front porch that had to be lugged inside for winter. Those plants would bloom at midnight so we would stay up late especially to the spectacle.

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  54. Karen, sure, legally you have to allow him access. That’s why I suggested to keep a bag packed but otherwise go about your life as though he isn’t coming. If he comes, it’s good. But if he doesn’t come, under the circumstances that’s good too–probably even better than if he does come.

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  56. Cheryl – At the end of a day when R was supposed to take him but didn’t show up, I figure that Forrest had a better time, & was more well-cared-for, with us, which gives me contentment & satisfaction. And when he does go with his dad, I pray a hedge of protection over him, especially protection from emotional & spiritual harm.

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  58. Wow, $5,000 to take care of a plant. Yikes. I’d be terrified I’d kill it and then feel guilty.

    We’ve cooled off a lot today, maybe high 60s — and I was chilly sitting outside a little while ago reading Ps. 131. But it’s supposed to go back up to 79 by Friday I think. Still, in the meantime, it’s so nice to have the cool ocean air back in our midst.

    Since I have to take the dogs to the vet tomorrow morning, I’m going in later and will have to go to an evening city council meeting, a fate almost worse that death. Speaking of city council meetings, though, we were trying to do some local reaction on the prayer decision that came down today from the Supremes and quickly found out that invocations have long since gone by the wayside in most of our cities.

    I suspect everyone became skittish over the years as court challenges began to fly.

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  59. I finally finished a project that I’ve been working on in some way (initially multiple e-mails to the publisher for several weeks because it just wasn’t clear what they wanted) since about February and that was supposed to be my March book. I wrestled it to the ground and tied its feet, and I hope it doesn’t get loose and come back to get me.

    I’ve been working (with short breaks) since about 7:30 this morning. It’s now past midnight, and I’m physically and mentally exhausted. But it is done!

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  60. Donna, re the plant: I really think it’s bad enough when I see books on dog care say things like, “What your dog needs from you is . . . and petting is way down the list of its needs.” Sorry, I didn’t take in a dog as a kindness to a creature needing a home, I took in a dog because I wanted a pet. And while I need to be responsible to her, and while I like her very much, I pet her because I like stroking fur and not because she “needs” to be petted. She exists for me, not me for her. I know, I know, that suggests a man-centered worldview instead of a “people are scum, animals are good; two legs bad, four legs good” philosophy. So sue me.

    But to apply the charity-to-creatures idea to a plant is beyond absurd. If her friend wants a plant, let her have it. But to pay her to keep it, as though the plant were some being of innate worth that must be kept alive even if it doesn’t provide value to its keeper, is simply absurd.

    Keep the plant if you want it. Keep the dog if it’s a good pet. If not, let the plant wilt or sell it, and put the dog to sleep mercifully. Caring for either as acts of “charity” is absurd. (Yes, you might reasonably care for a dog past its days of usefulness as a pet simply because you love the creature and it is your friend. But you take in orphans because they need a home, whether or not they add value to your home, because they are human beings made in God’s image and therefore valuable. Animals and plants are not the same, are just not important in that way. And I say that as one of the biggest animal lovers around.)

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  61. Well, my views are a bit softer on all of that, but I agree with your point that man is made in God’s image and thus is unique and central and set apart from the rest of creation.

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